1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a foldable touch screen panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, demand for touch screen panels configured to receive information input by directly contacting a screen using a user's hand, a pen, or the like without use of a separate input device, such as a keyboard, a mouse, or the like, has rapidly grown. In particular, foldable touch screen panels have recently attracted attention in that the foldable touch screen panel is convenient to carry, and can embody a relatively large-sized screen, and accordingly, the foldable touch screen panel has been applied to not only mobile devices, such as cellular phones, portable multimedia players (PMPs), navigation devices, ultra mobile personal computers (UMPCs), e-books, e-newspapers, and the like, but has also been applied to other fields, such as TVs, monitors, and the like.
In existing touch screen panels, sensing electrodes for detecting an input position on a panel are formed of an indium tin oxide (ITO), which is a transparent conductive material.
A conventional touch screen panel will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1, which is a top view of a conventional touch screen panel. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional touch screen panel may include a substrate 110, a sensing electrode part having a plurality of sensing electrodes 120 patterned on one surface or both surfaces of the substrate 110, and a metallic wiring part having a plurality of metallic wirings 130 formed outside the sensing electrode part and coupled to one end or both ends of the plurality of sensing electrodes 120. The conventional touch screen panel 100 may further include a connection part 140 that is located at an edge of one side of the substrate 110 and that couples the metallic wiring part to a circuit substrate.
Although the conventional touch screen panel 100 has good optical and electrical characteristics by applying an ITO to the plurality of sensing electrodes 120, the conventional touch screen lacks flexibility. Thus, an ITO having a high surface resistance and low flexibility is limited in achieving a sensing electrode pattern for foldable touch screen panels that are easily bent or folded.